Visions of Johanna

Freedom, creativity and mental satisfaction taste very sweet but is in fact are somethings which are really distant and can't be touched. Maybe momentarily we may feel them but in reality is quite the opposite. They may have only been illusions. Bob Dylan meant a lot of things when he wrote and performed VIsions of Johanna but for me, the song is a testimony to these illusions of freedom and utopia we have. Actually that's the beauty of Bob Dylan's songs. They are poetic rather than musical and like a poem its open to the interpretation of the listener.

         I read a few places in internet and they seem to compliment what I have in my mind. Johanna represents all that is free and all that is pure and ephemeral. Bob Dylan always imagines himself with Johanna but in reality is stuck with Louise who is earthly wise, practical and sometimes harsh. Remember he sings...

Louise, she's all right, she's just near
She's delicate and seems like the mirror
But she just makes it all too concise and too clear
That Johanna's not here

      Louise (reality) in her ways makes it too concise and clear that Johanna (freedom) is non-existent. That there is very little creative freedom and that world is too cruel anything that is out of ordinary. Western countries atleast understand this but India has almost forgotten to award creativity and out-of-box thinking. If you think about it, it's not altogether surprising either. After all our parents have grown up in some really hard times and always favoured single minded hard work and earning a decent pay instead of "dilly-dallying" searching for our passions.

         Why do we have to dream about something and then when we fail, need to be reminded of it every second? Well it's reality and that's what Loiuse is for. To remind us that we can never have Johanna. Because we are with Louise and she's more than what we can settle for. Yet, we know we should've settled for Johanna. I know I can go on this ranting forever but it's not a good idea to do so on a blog i guess...

On a totally different note, does it mean Bob Dylan is hinself a person who sees that the pasture is always green on the other side? Even if he has Louise with him, he always dreams of Johanna? There are some excellent threads on various forums discussing the meaning of this song. One of the best is here. It provided perspectives which make you realize that a person's interpretation is so dependent on his perspectives and his mindset. Read the interpretation of Lukethedrifter and Montresor. Really well seen.

Analysis becomes the antithesis of the analyis itself. In this song case, yes it is and thanks to Elephant_range and Bob Dylan for making me realize it.